The invention relates to aircraft controls and particularly to aircraft flight controls. Specifically, the invention relates to a mixing or blending of several aircraft flight controls into a single combined means of the flight control operations.
In the prior art separate control means are provided from the point of input to the flight control means to be activated as the output. The present invention mixes or blends several of the control operations so that a single input device can be used for a plurality of flight control means to be activated. The details are described and discussed hereinafter.
Because of the mixing or blending of a plurality of flight control movements, the present single source input might be termed an ultrol aircraft flight control system.
The ultrol aircraft flight control system combines the functions of standard ailerons (a roll and lateral control device) with standard flaps (a lift control device) on aircraft into a single control device. This combination of the control devices may be referred to as flaperons.
The ultrol aircraft flight control system can also be used on tailess or flying wing type aircraft to combine the functions of standard ailerons with the elevator functions (a nose up or down pitch control device) into a single control device. This combination of the control devices may be referred to as elevons.
In a similar manner, the ultrol aircraft flight control system may also be applied to V-tail type aircraft for controlling the elevators at the rudder into a similar single control operation. This combination of control devices may be referred to a ruddervators.
The flight control mixing system is applicable to model aircraft and light aircraft as well as other types. The flight control mixing system may be arranged for operation manually or for mechanical operation, such as by a servo mechanism. In regard to the servo mechanism, such an arrangement on aircraft, such as model aircraft, can be by radio control.
The flight control mixing system basically comprises five major components. Those five major components are: a swing arm mounting element affixed to the airframe; a swing arm element for control of concurrent parallel operation of flight control surfaces; a special bell crank-like element, in a T-configuration, capable of two modes of transmission of flight control operations or movements; a bell crank element for transmitting one of the modes of transmission to the special bell crank-like element; and a transfer means of input from the bell crank element to the special bell crank-like element. A more detailed description and operational mode for each of these components is provided hereinafter.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a flight control mixing system which will mix or blend the operational movements of flight control means through the function of a single input control device.
It is another object of the invention to provide a flight control mixing system that combines the functions of standard ailerons (a roll and lateral control device) with standard flaps (a lift control device) on conventional aircraft into a single control means.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a flight control mixing system that combines the functions of standard ailerons with the elevator functions (a nose up or down pitch control device) on tailless or flying wing type aircraft into a single control means.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a flight control mixing system that may be applied to V-tail type aircraft for controlling the elevators and the rudder into a single control operation.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a flight control mixing system that is also applicable to model aircraft control.
It is yet still another object of the invention to provide a flight control mixing system that may be operated manually or by mechanical means, such as servo mechanisms.
It is also another object of the invention to provide a flight control mixing system that can be operated by radio control means.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent in the light of the following description of the preferred embodiments.